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>>> REDEEM REWARDS WITH RALPHS
Grocery store chain Ralphs has a Community Rewards program and we are a designated recipient. Which means that if you have a Ralphs card:
Sign in on the website, www.ralphs.com,
Go to the Community Rewards page
Pick us to receive a percentage of what you buy.
The program costs you nothing. We can use the money to help support programs like workshops and other events, even more crucial in these virtual times. Anything we can get helps!
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SINCLA is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and our organization will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase via book links that may appear on this site or during our Zoom programs, such as our monthly Chapter Meetings or events like HOUSE ARREST.
Mary Roberts Rinehart (Pittsburgh) SinC Chapter Presents
Dealing With Tropes
with Tamara Girardi
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Zoom Webinar – 1:00 PM Eastern
Tropes are a fundamental aspect of fiction writing that can help writers create memorable and impactful stories. A trope is a common or familiar theme or device, such as the “love triangle” or a “hero’s journey.” These familiar elements can be used to create familiarity for readers and to help writers tell their stories more effectively. Tropes can also help writers by creating a framework for a story, assisting in structuring plot and directing the narrative. However, tropes should also be subverted when possible or used in unexpected ways to create a more nuanced and original story. In this session, we will discuss common tropes that writers may want to avoid and those that writers should embrace. We will brainstorm together how to subvert the tropes and strategize ways to surprise readers.
Tamara Girardi writes books for children and teens. Her debut young adult novel, Gridiron Girl, tells the story of Julia Medina who quits the volleyball team to compete against her boyfriend for the starting quarterback position. Three additional sports novels in the Iron Valley Vikings series followed in 2022. Above the Fold is the first book in Tamara’s second series, all about teens exploring their dreams and their true selves through exhibits at a popular, mardi-gras-esque hotspot called Carnivalesque. Above the Fold released in January of 2023, and its sequel, Behind the Mask followed in February, both from Wise Wolf Books. Tamara’s debut board book, Why, Daddy? Why? was named an Editor’s Pick by Amazon. Also an academic, Tamara is a college English professor. She lives in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and four adorably rambunctious children.
Register for the Zoom link here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/dealing-with-tropes-tickets-560501975497
Capitol Crimes Chapter Presents
Cops & Writers: How To Get Away With Murder
Saturday, March 25, 2023
Zoom Webinar – 1:00 PM Pacific
Please join New York Times Bestselling author Robin Burcell, and award winning writers James L’Etoile and Adam Plantinga on Sat. 3/25 at 1 PM Pacific Time for a wide ranging discussion of police procedurals, creating law enforcement characters, and how authors get the authentic details right—or really wrong. Gunpowder or cordite; revolver vs. semi-auto; clip vs. magazine; is it a gun, or piece, or service weapon…
Get the facts and enjoy a great discussion.
Register for Zoom link at www.capitolcrimes.org.
SinC NorCal Presents
Contraband and Crooks: Working Dogs in the World of Police, Fire and SAR
with Bob Calkins
Saturday, April 1, 2023
Zoom Webinar – 10:00am Pacific
Bob’s presentation will focus on how to accurately portray working dogs in procedural crime fiction. You’ll learn what makes a good police or SAR dog, how they’re trained and how they’re used. The presentation is more than just cool dog stories. Bob will focus on how to create conflict, drama, emotion, empathy, revelation and resolution as part of your plots. And then… he’ll tell cool dog stories. Bring your questions!
Get your tickets on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/573234749567